try without a calling number *99#, just leave empty
Play with different channels
use apn “internet”
I don’t want to discourage you, but Mikrotik routers compared to competition are performing significatly worse (regarding mobile networks 2G-LTE). I have tried soo many different models of routerboards, different ROS versions and also different modems (usb, pci-e, serial).
Keema, This is a topic i have been looking at for a while, looking at changing over to a 3g internet provider. What have you found to be the issue with Mikrotik specifically? What other brands have you used and would recommend?
First let me say that Mikrotik has been my 1st choice since 2004. Sadly lately in my opinion RoS has been going from 1 buggy release to another so I was forced to start looking for replacements. Looking at the price/performace I started using Virtual Access (http://www.virtualaccess.com) products (for 2g,3g,4g related services) - very stable . I still use Mikrotiks for core networks and wireless. In some case I started replacing wireless with UBNT.
Also what I found to be an issue with Mikrotik is the lack of support for modem drivers. It seems they only support modems that are directly supported by the kernel. But OK, I can adapt to this. Sadly, the modems that were on the support list (ZTE 668, ZTE 668A, Sierra Wireless MC8790, MC8792V, Novatel 850D) didn’t perform as they should. By that I mean constant link dropping, routerboard hanging non-stop (at some point it just doesn’t find a USB port anymore and needs to be power cycled, reboot doesn’t help). Also, Mikrotik support was of no help with this issue, so that’s why I say I was forced. Needless to say the same modem that was inserted via USB or PCI-E in Mikrotik, performed without any problems connected to a Windows machine.
These are my experiences with mobile part of Mikrotik.